The Best of Bad Luck
by Dark Ride
Summary: 'Animan' ending divergence. Chat's rotten luck struck just as he was leaving the site of the battle and he ended up knocked out on a certain roof. The cat and bug were let out of the bag but it wasn't the happy occasion either might have imagined. Love square and DJWifi.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** I think it's obvious by now that I love reveal fics. And what with rewatching the series for research purposes, the ideas keep coming in. Enjoy. This was meant to be a fluffy one-shot but then the angst came and I thought: Why not?

 **Content Notices:** slight language

* * *

Ladybug was the lucky one in their duo, it was a simple fact. It probably accounted for her being able to jump into a tyrannosaurus' mouth and getting out again no worse for wear. If Chat had tried a stunt like that, well, it was better left unsaid.

The basic gist of it was that Chat Noir was the unlucky one between the two of them and that where Ladybug's luck held out, his didn't. At all.

That was the only explanation for why, when he jumped to the roof to get away before he transformed back into his civilian self, his transformation wore off mid-leap and Adrien came crashing down on a terrace, tumbling ungracefully until he was stopped by a small iron-wrought table.

As a Chat Noir, he would have shaken off the impact easily enough. As an Adrien, though, the contact with the table knocked him out. Plagg fluttered over him, letting his worry show as there were no witnesses around but once the kwami established that his chosen partner was still breathing, the worry ebbed. All he had to do was wait for Adrien to wake up and pester him for cheese so they could finish getting away.

Waiting was boring, though. Plagg was a cat. Actually, he was a cat kwami. The ultimate essence of catness was what made up the very core of his being. And as a cat, he got curious very quickly. And with the very inviting trap door right there...

Plagg peeked over the railing, seeing that Ladybug was talking to the man who had been the Akuma. He could hail her and explain things but he could always do it later after he took a peek into the house. What if there was a cheese inside? If there was and he ate it, he could transform Adrien as soon as the boy woke up and there would be no need to involve Ladybug.

She was quite touchy about the whole secret identity thing for some reason. She wouldn't appreciate Plagg forcing her to take care of the unmasked and unconscious Chat Noir. No, it was better to handle things on his own.

Having justified his actions, Plagg dived into the room beyond the trap door. There was a very nice bed right beneath - too bad he had no time for a nap - and further on was a familiar looking room. He had been here with Adrien before, when the boy had come over to play games with Marinette. Except the décor was different.

Plagg took a look at the pictures of Adrien put up all over the walls and cackled. Someone had a crush on the boy, one that probably rivaled the one the boy himself had on Ladybug. Plagg flitted over to look closer at one picture when there was a thump on the roof and a hastily muffled scream.

Plagg zipped beyond the computer monitor when the trap door opened and someone thudded down on the bed. There was a flash of pinkish light and then came the sound of a voice.

"Oh my god, Tikki, what's Adrien doing on my terrace?"

Plagg knew how to put two and two together and he very much liked the potential for mischief this particular four promised. He straightened out his feelers - he hadn't seen Tikki in a while, after all - and floated straight up to where Ladybug, now in her civilian form, was busy screaming into a pillow.

"I think I can explain, Ladybug," he said with a grin. "Or do you prefer Marinette?"

Two sets of large blue eyes blinked at him and then he was tackled by a red blur.

"What's the meaning of this, Plagg?!"

Plagg wiggled out of Tikki's hold and dusted himself off with a huff.

"Yeah, missed you too, Tikki. Now, can we get to the point where I ask you to help me take care of my Chat Noir? You might have noticed him knocked out outside."

The way Ladybug's eyes widened and how she grabbed the pillow to scream into it again was the funniest thing Plagg had seen recently. This was shaping up to be one of the most entertaining days he had had in a while.

* * *

Adrien woke up to a familiar sounding voice.

"Alya, I can't really meet with you right now. I'm really, really sorry for everything today and I promise I'll make it up to you... No! You don't have to check up on me! I'm fine. Totally, completely fine, nothing going on here, I swear!... Yes, we can meet up later... Yes, see you then, bye."

The sigh that came after that was of a person who had just gotten a reprieve but didn't expect it to last. Adrien turned his head to see Marinette putting away her phone. He quickly looked around and found his suspicions confirmed. He was laid up on a chaise in Marinette's room.

The movement of his head dislodged a cold wet cloth sitting on his forehead and it fell to the ground with a plop. Marinette looked up at the sound and their eyes met and held. She looked like she had had the biggest shock of her life and when Adrien cautiously felt around his eyes and hair, he understood why. He had no mask on.

The last thing he remembered was falling down and tumbling across a terrace after his transformation had worn off earlier than expected. Which meant that Marinette had had to find him lying prone out there. It would explain the shock she must have felt. There was no good, reasonable explanation that wouldn't give away his secret. But Adrien had to try and come up with something. While he trusted Marinette to keep the secret, Ladybug was right about one thing. It could be dangerous to know and he wouldn't forgive himself if Marinette got hurt because of it.

"I can explain," he started, hoping the words would come to him somehow but Marinette held up her hand.

"There's no need. Plagg told me what had happened."

"He did?" Adrien asked in surprise before the meaning registered in his mind. "Oh, you know?"

"Yeah, I know," she said, her voice curiously flat. "Plagg laughed himself silly while telling me how stupid and oblivious we both were."

Adrien frowned. Plagg could be a handful, sure. The kwami didn't know the meaning of tact or restraint but divulging Adrien's secret and insulting his friend didn't sound like him.

"I'm sorry for any offense he might have-"

Marinette - Marinette! - cut him off.

"We're not accountable for everything our kwami do or say," she said and Adrien was suddenly glad to be lying down because if he understood her correctly...

"You're Ladybug," he said with a wonder. Marinette nodded and looked away. "You're Ladybug," he repeated, the new knowledge dawning on him slowly. "You're Ladybug," he said again, the thought getting more exciting by the minute. "You're Ladybug-"

"And you're Chat Noir," Plagg spoke up and floated lazily towards Adrien, looking him quickly over before settling in his hair. "Are we done or do you want to say more perfectly obvious things?"

"Sorry," Adrien said, finally noticing how red Marinette had become. Of course she didn't need to be told, repeatedly, that she was Ladybug. She knew and she hadn't wanted him to know except now he did and... this was a giant mess. This wasn't how he had imagined the big reveal going down, with him getting knocked out because of his own bad luck and forcing Ladybug to take care of him in her civilian identity.

"It's okay, I was shocked, too," she said quietly and Plagg snickered.

"She was screaming into her pillow for some time. And then she freaked out because she thought you had died while she had the breakdown and-"

Adrien grabbed Plagg from his perch and did his best to silence him without resorting to outright violence.

"Will you make it home on your own?" Marinette asked, ignoring the scuffle.

"Well, I need to give Plagg some cheese," he said but Plagg finally got his mouth free.

"She already gave me some. It's enough to get us back but you owe me more."

"Sure, just," Adrien paused and looked at Marinette who was still looking away from him. "Shouldn't we talk about this?"

She flinched, just the tiniest bit before she shook her head.

"I need some time to think about everything. And Alya has been calling me a lot, too. I have to talk to her."

"Okay," he agreed. She was right, it would do him good to think things through, too. Now that he knew that Ladybug was someone so close to him - literally in his arm's reach, he had to decide how to act around her. Would he be more of a Chat or would she prefer Adrien? He would have to think about that. "I'll see you tomorrow."

He transformed, waved to her and left, taking extra care not to trip again.

* * *

Thoughts on what to do occupied Adrien for most of the evening, although he found time to talk to Nino about the surprising twist in his friend's romantic life. Adrien was actually glad that Nino didn't like Marinette like that anymore. With the new knowledge he now possessed, he wasn't sure he could have been as supportive as Nino deserved.

Plagg was quite for the most part, aside from complaining that Adrien wasn't as nice to him as Marinette was to Tikki and it was easy to block him out. He much preferred thinking on all the similarities between Ladybug and Marinette that he had been too blind to notice.

In the end, he decided that he would do as he always had done - follow his lady's lead, wherever that may take them.

The next day, he walked into class on time, fist-bumped Nino and settled down to wait for Marinette's arrival. He imagined they would exchange secretive looks, maybe a smile or two, he could try and send her a note with a cryptic message only she would get... The possibilities were endless and Adrien felt positively giddy at the thought of spending so much time with the most important person in his life.

Which is why it came as a nasty shock when Marinette stumbled into the class ten seconds before the bell and beelined towards her seat without so much as a glance in his direction. Adrien tried to turn around to talk to her, maybe wish her a good morning but the teacher came in and he had to at least pretend to pay attention.

Adrien stared at his worksheet but his mind was elsewhere. Maybe she didn't think he could be subtle about this. As a Chat Noir, he was rather more outgoing but he knew better than to draw too much attention. There was nothing strange about two friends talking to each other, wasn't there?

The moment the bell rang for the end of the first lesson, Adrien turned around.

"Hi," he greeted her and finally noticed the paleness of her face. "Are you okay?" he asked in concern. Marinette stared at him for a moment and then her face tensed, her jaw locked and her eyes narrowed.

"I'm fine, you don't need to worry about me."

Adrien was taken aback, both by the hostility and fluency of her answer.

"Marinette, I-"

She held up her hand to stop whatever he was going to say, he wasn't sure himself.

"I think it would be for the best if you left me alone for a few days. I just can't deal with this right now."

To punctuate her point, she opened her textbook and stared down at the pages, even though it was clear she was just pretending to read. Adrien turned back in his seat and stared unseeing at the blackboard.

How the hell did this go so wrong?


	2. Chapter 2

Marinette's side of the story. All aboard the train to Angstville :)

* * *

Marinette wished that getting almost eaten by a tyrannosaurus was the weirdest thing to have happened to her that day but even that had been overshadowed by her finding Adrien unconscious on her terrace.

The revelation that Adrien was Chat Noir was just the proverbial last straw. Marinette remembered how furiously she had denied that possibility once and how utterly wrong she had turned out to be.

After a short freakout - something she felt she was entitled to, she turned towards tending to her partner. Adrien's kwami hovered closely over her as she dragged the unconscious boy inside and set him up on her chaise. It would have been easier to let him rest on her bed but there was only so much she could handle; Adrien in her bed, regardless of the hows and whys, was way over the limit.

Once she had him settled and after sending off a quick text to Alya with a promise of a latter talk, she had to take a quick detour to the kitchen to find some cheese for Plagg. The black kwami seemed to enjoy the situation way too much, although Marinette didn't miss the concerned glances he shot at Adrien when he thought she wasn't looking.

"Plagg has always been like that," Tikki told her quietly while Marinette was fetching a wet cloth to put on Adrien's head. "He acts like he has no care in the world except for his next meal but he cares a lot for his charges."

"He's like a real cat then?" Marinette asked and Tikki nodded.

"Only a lot more mischievous. And he can be very rude at times."

That was an understatement. Once Plagg finished eating and all that was left was wait for Adrien to wake up, he started talking a lot. Except his choice of the topic was less than pleasant.

"He once said he would recognize Ladybug without her mask immediately," Plagg said laughingly. "And there you were, sitting right behind him all this time. Not like you are any better," he added scathingly and floated towards the stack of posters Marinette hastily took off the walls - she was getting better at that. "You have an obsession with the boy and yet fail to notice the similarities."

"I didn't want to know who he was," she defended herself. Plagg shrugged.

"I don't really care as long as the cheese keeps coming," he said. "But if I know my boy, he's going to be over the moon. Heh," he cackled as something occurred to him. "Wait until he realizes what he has almost done."

"What do you mean?"

Plagg grinned and Tikki shot towards him.

"Don't!"

"I haven't said anything yet," Plagg protested.

"You want to get Adrien into trouble with Marinette," Tikki scolded him and Plagg drew back, offended.

"I do not," he protested. "He got into trouble all on his own, I'm just tattling on him."

"Plaaaagg!" Tikki groaned and Plagg floated closer to her, Marinette watching quietly.

"You always say honesty is important," he pointed out. "She would have found out anyway."

"What do you mean?" Marinette asked and Plagg came to a stop in front of her face, his expression solemn except for the glint in his eyes.

"We were at the zoo today, coaching Nino through his date with you. Well, Adrien was trying to coach him, I was just there to enjoy the show."

"My date with Nino?" Marinette asked, bewildered. That couldn't be right. Nino liked Alya. He had told her himself while they had been waiting for Adrien to show up. Which he never had, unlike Chat Noir who had been there almost immediately. And Nino had been acting weird the whole time...

"Yup," Plagg said, patting her shoulder consolingly. "Adrien is such a dummy he tried to set up the girl he likes with his best friend. Hmm, maybe he just wanted the best for you?"

"Adrien tried to set me up with Nino?" Marinette repeated, her heart aching at the thought.

"Like I said, he's a dummy," Plagg said dismissively before he settled himself on top of the computer monitor, nibbling at a piece of Eidam.

Marinette didn't really pay any attention to him anymore. She was aware of Tikki settling on her shoulder and she was grateful for the support because, well, she finally got her answer of how Adrien felt about her. He didn't care, not the way she wanted him to.

It didn't matter that he was Chat Noir who went out of his way to flirt with Ladybug. It didn't matter that he had hugged her out of relief less than an hour ago. It didn't matter because the boy beneath the mask didn't care for the girl beneath the mask in the same way as she did for him.

"Marinette?" Tikki's voice was questioning and there was a soft paw touching her cheek. "What's wrong?"

"Everything," she said and then she buried her head in her knees. "Everything."

It wasn't just the fact that Adrien didn't like Marinette romantically. It was Plagg's implication that Adrien liked Ladybug. No matter how many times Tikki told her she was Ladybug, Marinette felt that she wasn't as good as her alter ego. This was merely a confirmation of all her fears.

A ringing of the phone broke her out of her reverie and she accepted the call from Alya. It would help take her mind off of things, at least.

"Hey, Alya."

"Mari, where are you?" Alya demanded immediately. "I really need to talk to you about today and I'd rather do it in person."

"Alya, I can't really meet with you right now," Marinette said and hoped her voice wouldn't crack. "I'm really, really sorry for everything today and I promise I'll make it up to you."

"Is everything okay? You sound weird. Are you home? I'm coming over."

The rapid-fire way Alya spoke made Marinette smile although her coming over was the last thing Marinette needed at the moment.

"No! You don't have to check up on me! I'm fine," she lied. "Totally, completely fine, nothing going on here, I swear!"

"If you say so," Alya said slowly. "But we still need to talk."

"Yes, we can meet up later."

"In an hour on Trocadero?"

"Yes, see you then, bye."

Marinette hung up with a sigh. She needed to pull herself together otherwise Alya would know something was wrong. Sometimes it was hard to have such a nosy friend but other times she welcomed the concern and fussing.

There was a plop and when Marinette looked over, her eyes met Adrien's. Her talking on the phone must have woken him up. Marinette knew she should say something but nothing was coming to mind.

Adrien slowly touched his hair and face and then grimaced.

"I can explain," he said hesitantly and although a part of her was curious about what excuse he would come up with, a bigger part of her just wanted him gone so she could think things through in peace. She held up her hand to stop him.

"There's no need. Plagg told me what had happened."

"He did?" Adrien asked in surprise before he realized her implication. "Oh, you know?"

"Yeah, I know," she said, willing her voice not to shake. "Plagg laughed himself silly while telling me how stupid and oblivious we both were."

Adrien frowned at that.

"I'm sorry for any offense he might have-"

Marinette interrupted him, not wanting his apologies. It wasn't like Plagg had been entirely wrong in his description of them.

"We're not accountable for everything our kwami do or say," she told him and she saw the moment her meaning hit him.

"You're Ladybug," he said with a wonder. Marinette nodded and looked away. "You're Ladybug. You're Ladybug." If he said it again, she was going to scream. He looked happier with every passing second and why wouldn't he? He was getting his wish of knowing her identity at last. "You're Ladybug-"

"And you're Chat Noir," Plagg spoke up and Marinette could have kissed the kwami for interrupting. "Are we done or do you want to say more perfectly obvious things?"

"Sorry," Adrien said and she nodded. She got his excitement and under any other circumstance, she would have shared it. But not now, when it was just breaking her heart anew. He was happy to know Ladybug, not Marinette.

"It's okay, I was shocked, too," she said for the lack of anything better.

"She was screaming into her pillow for some time," Plagg said with a snicker. "And then she freaked out because she thought you had died while she had the breakdown and-"

Maybe Plagg wasn't as great as she had thought him to be a moment ago. But scuffling with his kwami took Adrien's attention off of her and Marinette took the chance to breathe quickly through her oncoming tears.

"Will you make it home on your own?" she asked, trying to cut things short.

"Well, I need to give Plagg some cheese," Adrien said but Plagg butted into the conversation again.

"She already gave me some. It's enough to get us back but you owe me more," the kwami said and pouted. Marinette smiled a little at that.

"Sure, just," Adrien paused and she almost felt the weight of his eyes on her. "Shouldn't we talk about this?"

Marinette flinched. She wasn't up to having that conversation with him, not right now, so she shook her head.

"I need some time to think about everything." It wasn't a lie. "And Alya has been calling me a lot, too. I have to talk to her."

"Okay," he agreed easily enough. "I'll see you tomorrow."

She didn't look while he transformed, only letting out a breath after the trap door thudded down. She was grateful more than ever for Tikki's stable presence on her shoulder after she started to shake with sobs.

* * *

Her talk with Alya confirmed everything Plagg had told her earlier. Adrien had been at the zoo, coaching Nino through a headset the same way Alya had done for her. Adrien had actively encouraged Nino to pursue her, Marinette. Adrien obviously didn't care for her as more than a friend.

Nino had allegedly offered to speak to Adrien on her behalf but Marinette didn't see the point. Maybe if they hadn't found out each other's secret identities then it would have been possible but not anymore.

Ladybug would always overshadow Marinette in Adrien's and Chat's eyes. If they got together, it would be because of Ladybug, not Marinette. And as much as Marinette loved being her alter ego, she didn't think it was wrong to want to be liked for her civilian self as well.

And that was why the next day at school, when Adrien turned in his seat and tried to initiate a conversation with her, she steeled her heart against the hope in his eyes and shut him down.

"I think it would be for the best if you left me alone for a few days. I just can't deal with this right now."

She ignored the way his face fell and she ignored the twinge of guilt that expression caused her. She wasn't Ladybug right now, she was just Marinette. She couldn't be perfect all the time.


	3. Chapter 3

Let me just say that I absolutely adore the friendships in this show, with Alya and Marinette's being my favourite. A filler chapter but a necessary one.

* * *

Marinette thought, or rather hoped, that Alya would be too caught up in her new relationship to pay too much attention to her. Ironically enough, she wasn't so lucky. While the morning lessons had gone well enough, with only a minimal interaction between the two friends, the moment the lunch bell sounded, Alya was out of her seat and dragging Marinette with her.

"We need to talk," she said and Marinette's shoulders slumped. She should have known she wouldn't be getting off so easily. Alya had been too distracted the previous day to question her as thoroughly as she had no doubt wanted to but with the whole lunch break ahead of them, they now had all the time in the world.

"All right," Alya said when they settled down at a park bench. "What was all of that about?"

"What do you mean?" Marinette asked in a last ditch attempt to avoid talking about this but Alya merely shook her head and tsked.

"You know exactly what I mean. You totally froze out Adrien today. He started talking to you and you basically told him to take a hike! What gives, Marinette?"

Marinette sighed and pulled her legs up on the bench, curling into herself.

"I'm giving up on him, Alya."

"What? Why?"

"What kind of a boy sets up a girl with his best friend?" Marinette asked despondently and answered herself. "The kind that only sees her as a friend. I finally got the message."

Alya's eyes softened and she hugged Marinette, squeezing her hard.

"I'm so sorry, Mari."

"It's okay, it's not your fault," Marinette replied, sniffling a bit. She had already cried over this, she wouldn't start again.

"Boys can be so dumb, I swear!" Alya started to rant. "You are like the best girl in all of Paris - sweet and kind and sassy and totally cute and ugh, the model boy needs his eyes checked if he's too blind to see that."

Marinette didn't realize how much she had needed this support from her best friend. Tikki had comforted her last night but the kwami was looking at the situation from a different perspective, one that took into account her responsibilities. Alya, though, was all fire and brimstone and indignation; all of that outrage for Marinette's sake and no one else's.

"Thanks, Alya," Marinette muttered and felt Alya nod against her head. It seemed a part of Marinette's luck was still holding up, to have someone like Alya in her corner.

"I suppose you don't want me to mess his face up for breaking your heart? I wouldn't get caught."

Marinette had to snort at that.

"No. He had no way of knowing. I just need some time, that's all."

Alya hummed and rocked Marinette back and forth.

"Okay, then I'll run interference for you and be your moral support. Do you want me to come over tonight?"

"Don't you have a date with Nino?"

"If he gets upset because of me ditching him for a friend who needs me, he's not worth dating anyway."

Marinette nodded.

"That would be great and-" she paused, mentioning it could endanger her identity but it would make Alya happy. "My parents said Ladybug and Chat Noir came by yesterday, I'm sure they would be happy to answer any questions you might have."

Alya was way stronger than Marinette gave her credit for. Or maybe it was just the excitement. Regardless, Marinette found herself squeezed almost to the point of cracking bones.

"You are seriously the best!"

It felt good to laugh at her best friend's enthusiasm and Marinette knew then and there that she would be fine eventually.

* * *

Adrien wasn't sure what to do. Marinette had been upset earlier and he knew that it had been his fault, even if he had no idea what he had done wrong. She looked less upset after she and Alya had come back from their lunch but she still wouldn't meet his eyes. Alya had scowled at him briefly but then she had shaken her head and instead informed Nino that they needed to change their plans for the evening. A quick and hushed conversation had followed and Nino had nodded in agreement to whatever Alya had told him.

"Is everything okay?" Adrien asked once Nino turned back and the other boy grinned.

"I got ditched for Marinette and her parents," he said jokingly. "It turns out Ladybug and Chat Noir were in their bakery yesterday so Alya's going to interview them."

"And you don't mind?" Adrien was sure that calling off a date was not something done often.

"Nah," Nino said dismissively. "I know what the blog means to Alya and I'm happy she got this scoop. We can have other dates."

Adrien nodded thoughtfully. He was surprised that Marinette was taking such a risk but it was not like her parents had recognized her yesterday. And she had been dodging Alya's attempts at discovering Ladybug's identity since the very beginning. She knew what she was doing. If only he could say the same.

Adrien bent down to his bag, pretending to look for something while straining his periphery vision to the maximum to catch a glimpse of Marinette. He could just make out her hand but that was about it. He straightened out with a frustrated sigh. He wanted to make things right between the two of them but he had no idea where to start.

Since the only thing that had changed since yesterday was the revelation of their identities, the problem must be related to that. Was it because he had hugged her? Or because of the sniffing? That had weirded her out. Truth be told, it had weirded him out as well, as it usually did when he did cat-like things instinctually. Plagg had just told him to deal with it and be grateful it wasn't worse.

But he had been doing weird cat-like things for months. Things had been more intense yesterday, true, but still, something didn't seem right about that reasoning.

"Hello, Earth to Adrien," Nino's voice broke into his thoughts and Adrien smiled sheepishly at him, only now noticing the rapidly emptying classroom. He had been really out of it. Nino was shaking his head at him. "Dude, you've been spacing out the whole day, what's up with that?"

"Sorry, I just have a lot on my mind," Adrien said quickly. A flicker of movement to his side made him turn and he could only watch helplessly as Marinette scuffled by his desk, keeping her eyes down and clutching her bag so tightly he could see her knuckles turning white. He wanted to respect her wishes and leave her alone but he hated seeing her so timid and unsure, all because of him. It was nothing like Ladybug he knew.

Alya waited for her by the door and slung a protective arm around her shoulders and there was that scowl aimed in his direction again. Could Alya know what the problem was? But if she did, it could have nothing to do with Ladybug and Chat Noir and it had to be about Adrien and Marinette. Adrien was aware he could sometimes make a mess of things by missing on social clues - a result of his homeschooling; fortunately he had someone willing to set him straight.

"Nino?" Adrien asked slowly. "Have I done something to upset Marinette?"

The startled look at Nino's face was answer enough. The boy twisted his cap around before he looked to the ground and then back to Adrien's expectant face and finally gave in.

"She's probably embarrassed because of the date. You know, the one you tried to set up between her and myself? I told Alya and Alya told Marinette and she's not taking it well."

"But why would that upset her?"

Nino gaped at him.

"Seriously? You have no idea?"

"That's why I'm asking."

Nino shook his head and muttered something that sounded like "Unbelievable" under his breath. Adrien waited patiently. Nino had always come through for him before.

"She's probably embarrassed because-"

"She's embarrassed because you tried to set her up with Nino and then she tried to set him up with me and it could have become a giant mess that would have ruined friendships and lives," Alya interrupted as she strode into the room and headed for her desk, picking up a textbook. "I forgot this." She stuffed it into her bag and then glared at them, causing both Nino and Adrien to take a step back. "Anyway, it's a girl thing that mere mortal boys like you cannot understand so don't even try. Just leave her alone for a couple of days. She'll talk to you when she's ready."

Adrien nodded, relieved that it wasn't anything worse. Alya stared at him for a moment before turning sharply and striding out again. Nino stared after her and then he sighed.

"My girlfriend is so scary it's hot."

Adrien laughed at that and resolutely ignored the spark of jealousy that he couldn't say the same about Ladybug, yet. He comforted himself that he hadn't screwed things up beyond repair. She would talk to him when she was ready and then he would talk to her as well. He had something to tell her that was long overdue. And this time, there would be no Akuma to stop him.

* * *

 **A/N:** I'm going to start posting one other fic soon - a follow-up to **_The Matter of National Security_** \- and I'll be aiming for an once-a-week update for both that and this fic. That one is far more plot-heavy than this one, with less relationship angst and more world-building. So keep an eye out if you like that kind of story.


	4. Chapter 4

Kwamis' turn in the spotlight.

* * *

It was no longer funny.

Plagg was hiding in his favourite trash can so he didn't have to look at Adrien's lovesick face. The boy had been that way since that unfortunate day in Ladybug's room and it wasn't likely to get any better.

Under any other circumstances, Plagg would have been content to let things play out naturally but there was a particular wrench in that plan. The wrench went by Hawkmoth and if there was a repeat of what had happened earlier that day, Ladybug and Chat Noir might as well hand their Miraculouses over. It would be less painful to watch.

The Akuma wasn't even that bad, just an angry ping-pong player who had been a sore loser. Chat had spent half of the fight being knocked around like a ping-pong ball and the other he had stared at Ladybug. She had noticed, of course and unlike usual, it had just made her angry.

Plagg winced as he recalled the vicious way she had dealt with the Akuma. If he had needed a reminder not to mess with Tikki's chosen, that had been it. Chat had then made things worse, first by trying to get her to talk to him and then by almost calling her by her civilian name.

In the end, both of them had gone home angry and confused. Plagg had had to put up with almost an hour of complaining before he had dived into his favourite hiding place and refused to come out.

That was the problem with how the Miraculous holders were chosen. Most of them got their powers while still teenagers. It made it easier for them to adjust, both physically and mentally, to the demands of the job. On the other hand, it also meant having to deal with all the drama that being young and stupid brought on.

Adrien had been quiet for a while now and when Plagg took a tentative peek over the rim of the can, he could see the boy scribbling something down. While Plagg hoped it was Adrien's homework, he didn't think he was that lucky.

Curiousity killed the cat, Plagg reminded himself but that didn't stop him from flying over to look at the paper. One glance told him everything he needed to know and he sighed.

"It won't work," he told the boy. Adrien jerked in surprise.

"Plagg! Don't sneak up on me," he chastised the kwami. Plagg took his customary perch on Adrien's head and tugged at a lock of his hair.

"It's not my fault you don't pay attention," the kwami huffed. "And for the record, that is a bad idea."

"What is?" Adrien asked defensively, tugging the paper closer to him.

"Confessing to Ladybug. Maybe you haven't noticed, but she's pissed at you."

"That's why I'll apologize first. Although I'm not sure what I did wrong. It was almost using her name today, right? That's why she got angry."

"Nah," Plagg said dismissively. "She was pissed even before that, you just made it worse."

"Do you think she still needs time to get over her embarrassment? I couldn't let her go against an Akuma alone, she must know that."

Plagg shook his head. If he knew what was up with Ladybug, he would tell Adrien in a heartbeat, if only to be spared all the drama. Watching them stumble around each other was fun only as long as it didn't endanger their lives. Plagg would give up eight of his lives before he admitted it but he cared about each of his kids. In his own way.

"You both made some blunders today. I'm pretty sure Tikki gave Ladybug an earful for what happened. You can't afford to make mistakes like that."

"I know, Plagg," Adrien said. "But how am I supposed to make things right between us if I don't know what's the problem? Is it really a girl thing like Alya said?"

"Probably," Plagg replied. Adrien stayed quiet for a moment, mulling something over.

"Plagg?" he asked. "Were there any girl Chat Noirs?"

"Plenty," Plagg said. "Why?"

"Can't you take a guess, then? About what's bothering Ladybug?"

"Kid," Plagg told him with a sympathetic pat on his head. "I wouldn't dare. You humans tend to make things too complicated for yourselves. I prefer to stay out of that."

Adrien's shoulders slumped and Plagg felt a twinge of guilt. He should at least try to be helpful.

"It's only been a day since she asked for time so wait for a few days more. You know who she is now so it's not like she can disappear on you."

Adrien nodded, the tense set of his shoulders relaxing. Plagg mentally patted himself on the back. He got him out of the slump for now. And Tikki always said it would take a life-and-death situation to get him serious. _Ha, shows what you know, Tikki,_ he thought smugly.

"I'm going to sleep. Do you want some cheese?"

"I'm good," Plagg said, thinking fondly of the box of pickled camembert he had saved for a special occasion. Being a helpful caretaker of his chosen surely counted as a special occasion.

"Good night then."

"Night," Plagg replied and dived for Adrien's closet. Adrien never realized he had hidden the box among the boy's winter boots, which was probably lucky for him. The kid, for some strange reason, detested the smell of cheese on his clothes. Humans were strange, Plagg concluded as he wrestled the lid off the box and inhaled the delicious scent, the sharp tang of onion underlining the smell of the cheese. How could anyone not love this?

* * *

Plagg decided the conscience was an awful thing. After he gorged himself on his hidden treasure, he wanted to get to sleep. Except he couldn't. Adrien was frowning in his sleep, tossing and turning and Plagg was pretty sure the boy was dreaming about Ladybug. And not the good kind of dreams, either.

Truth be told, Plagg found it strange the girl wanted to keep her distance from the boy. She liked him, one look at the walls of her room made that clear. And the boy liked her back since Chat Noir wasn't capable of subtlety when it came to his Lady. And yet, instead of throwing themselves at each other and sucking face like teenagers were prone to do, they continued the whole avoidance routine.

When he had told Adrien humans made things complicated for themselves, he had been speaking out of experience. Ladybugs and Chat Noirs over the history kept falling in and out of love, drawn and repulsed by each other. Most of the time, they worked things out enough to allow an amicable partnership. Some times, they experienced romance the gods themselves were jealous of. And other times they got so lost than only death straightened things up. There was a reason why Plagg preferred not to remember Venice.

The current Ladybug and Chat Noir were still young. It should be easier for them to clear up whatever misunderstanding that had come between them. But with Hawkmoth waiting for the slightest mistake, it wasn't safe to leave things to the two of them. They might sort things out in time or they might not. Plagg wasn't going to risk the second option.

"You'll owe me for this, kid," he muttered before he phased himself through the window and took flight in the direction of Ladybug's home. He found it easily enough. The lights were off and after taking a careful peek through the roof window, he could just make out Ladybug sleeping in her bed, Tikki curled on the pillow next to her.

He passed inside easily enough and immediately noticed the change in décor. The pictures of Adrien that had hung all over the walls before were all gone. Plagg frowned, feeling offended. If Ladybug stopped liking Adrien just because she found out he was Chat Noir, he was better off without the girl. But something about that line of reasoning didn't fit.

He floated to the bed and paused. There were tear tracks on Ladybug's face. She must have cried herself to sleep. But why?

"Tikki," he whispered. No movement. "Tikki!" he hissed and poked at her face. She blinked open her eyes, taking a moment to focus on him and then she shot up into the air.

"Plagg! What do you think you're doing?" She kept her voice down but there was no mistaking the anger in it.

"We need to talk," he said, floating towards the window, certain she would follow him if only to make sure he wasn't up to some mischief.

"Did Adrien send you?" Tikki asked when they settled on the small table that had, in a way, started this whole mess.

"No, he doesn't know I'm here. He's too much in love with her to go against her wishes."

"I see," Tikki said and frowned. "Is he really, though? In love with her?"

Plagg stared at her for a moment before he started laughing, rolling off the table in the process. He continued rolling around in air, gasping for air. Tikki huffed, crossing her paws.

"What?"

"You have met the boy, right?" Plagg finally managed to answer. "It's obvious how he feels."

"Towards Ladybug, you mean."

Plagg straightened up, taken aback by the seriousness in her voice.

"Well, yeah. He loves Ladybug and he's been pretty desperate to find out what he did wrong. Your girl had all these pictures of him but she took them down. Is it because he's Chat Noir?"

Tikki looked at the window, even if the angle was wrong to let her see the bed.

"No, it's not that," she said slowly. "She's trying to get over him because she thinks he doesn't love her. I know, I know," she spoke up when she saw him about to protest. "He's in love with Ladybug, it's obvious. And that's the problem. Marinette feels like he only loves the Ladybug part of her. And she's not exactly wrong, is she?"

It was Plagg's turn to stare contemplatively at the window. If he understood Tikki correctly...

"They're both crying themselves to sleep because of a teenage insecurity?!"

"Plagg! It's more complicated than that," Tikki argued but Plagg was having none of that. Seriously, humans needed to stop making things complicated for themselves.

"No, it's simple," he stated. "My boy loves Ladybug. Your girl loves Adrien. They're already halfway there and they would stop because they're what? Afraid of getting hurt?"

"It's a very sensitive age," Tikki pointed out. Plagg stared at her before he shook his head.

"It's a very stupid age, that's what it is. So what if my boy was too taken with Ladybug to notice her civilian self? Your girl wasn't exactly receptive to Chat Noir for the same reason - being too blinded by his other self."

Tikki deflated a bit at that.

"You might be right," she admitted and Plagg puffed up in pride. He didn't hear those words from her often. "But still, what can we do?"

Plagg grinned at her and floated closer to her, putting his paws on her shoulders.

"I'm so glad you asked."

* * *

When Plagg entered Adrien's room almost an hour later, he paused to stare at the boy on the bed.

"Seriously, you are going to owe me so much cheese, kid. A roomful of it, at the very least."

With that, he laid down on Adrien's pillow and went to a well-deserved sleep.

"So much cheese."

* * *

 **A/N:** This is what we call karma. Plagg messed things up for Adrien, now he's working to make it better.


	5. Chapter 5

They finally talk! On an unrelated note, I love writing Plagg.

* * *

Adrien's wake-up call that morning had been less than pleasant. Something poked his cheek and when he opened his eyes, he found his kwami hovering above and observing him. Patting self-consciously at his face revealed nothing out of ordinary.

"We're going to have a talk," Plagg announced after a long and, in Adrien's opinion, unnecessary pause. "I'm going to tell you exactly what you are going to do about Ladybug and you will follow my instructions to the letter. If you don't, well, you won't like the consequences."

Adrien blinked and yawned. He had woken up several times throughout the night and although he couldn't recall the exact details of his nightmares, it had been enough to make falling back asleep difficult. As such, he was in no shape to deal with Plagg's strange behaviour.

"Can this wait until I wash up, at least?" he pleaded but the kwami shook his head.

"Nah, you're easier to deal with like this. Where was I? Ah, yes, the consequences."

"What can you do? Stink up my clothes with cheese? You already do that," Adrien grumbled. Plagg grinned at him, his green eyes glowing with a malicious glee.

"I can make the Chat Noir suit smaller by several sizes," he said, floating closer and adding in a whisper. "Leather wedgie."

Adrien winced. The suit was skin-tight. If Plagg made it any smaller... He winced again and sat up.

"I'm listening."

Plagg puffed up smugly and landed on Adrien's knee.

"Good. Here's the thing. Marinette likes you."

"She does?" Adrien perked up visibly, his fatigue disappearing miraculously. He had to go and find her and talk to her and... Plagg floated up and tugged at his ear, bringing him back to reality.

"Hold your horses, Romeo. That's not a good thing."

"But-"

"She likes Adrien. As in the boy who tried to set her up with his best friend?"

And just like that, all the joy was sucked out of the room.

"I did that, didn't I?" Adrien whispered. Plagg nodded solemnly before that expression cracked into a grin.

"Yep, you sure screwed that up."

Adrien scowled at him.

"You don't have to sound so happy about that."

"Kid," Plagg said and patted him on the head patronizingly. "You think you're the first Chat to make a mess of things? I have seen this happen more times than I care to remember. And your blunder is far from the worst."

"So what do I do?"

"You listen to me and do as I say and soon enough, you and Ladybug can be gross together, sucking face and stuff."

Adrien nodded, resisting the urge to reprimand the kwami for making light of his feelings. Although the prospect of kissing the girl he had loved for months was apppealing.

"You will not talk to or look at her in school today. At all. If an Akuma appears, you will be professional and focused on the job. And then, later tonight, we will go and visit her."

"What?" Adrien yelped, not expecting that.

"You two have the same problem. She likes Adrien and doesn't notice Chat. And you like Ladybug so you don't notice Marinette."

"I do notice her," Adrien murmured petulantly. The look Plagg gave him could have curdled milk.

"Right. That's why you had no idea she liked you. Because you paid sooo much attention to her."

So maybe Plagg was right, in a way. Because Adrien had noticed Marinette, he just hadn't realized what her skittish behaviour around him had meant. If he had tried harder to figure her out, could things have gone differently? Well, there was no point dwelling on things he couldn't change. Still, she didn't want to see him because he had unknowingly hurt her. Going to see her when she wasn't ready would hardly help.

"Is visiting her a good idea?"

Plagg shook his head and tsked.

"Weren't you paying attention? I said we would visit her. You'll go as Chat and she'll be Marinette so you can get to know your overlooked selves."

"But-"

"No buts," Plagg cut him off. "Tikki and I already set things up. It was a lot of trouble that could have been avoided if the two of you were just a bit more observant. I'm not saying you will solve all your problems tonight but you should start somewhere and salvage what you can of your relationship."

"Thank you, Plagg, I appreciate it."

"You can show me your appreciation by looking at the page I bookmarked on your computer and buying me something from there," Plagg told him and Adrien couldn't help but smile. Trust the kwami to milk everything he could out of the situation. But his actions gave Adrien hope that he could set things right between himself and Marinette. And if it happened to cost him his entire allowance (Plagg didn't have cheap taste), it would still be worth every single Euro.

* * *

Marinette wondered how long it would take her to get over Adrien. She knew it would be a gradual process but it had been three days since her realization and nothing had changed for her. She still felt her heart jump and her stomach fill with butterflies of non-evil variety if she so much as caught a glimpse of him. There was a significant portion of bitterness mixed in her feelings, too, because it just wasn't fair. Why couldn't she turn off her feelings at will? It would make things so much easier.

At least Adrien stopped trying to look at her in school. Marinette had noticed the looks he had been giving her. He hadn't tried to talk to her at all, respecting her wishes on the matter, but for the previous two days, he had kept looking at her. That had changed on this morning. He would talk to Nino and pay attention to teachers and not once would he so much as glance in her direction.

Alya spent the lunch with her again, chatting about the most mundane things - new movies coming out, a show she had caught late last night that she would be looking up on one of the streaming sites because it looked interesting, a date she and Nino had gone on the previous night. She hesitated briefly before bringing up that topic but Marinette could assure her with total honesty that she didn't mind. She was happy for both Alya and Nino who seemed to really click together.

Marinette considered taking a run around Paris in her mask later that night but Tikki was insistent that they stay at home. The kwami was doing her best to give Marinette both support and necessary space and Marinette was grateful for that. It never occurred to her there might have been some ulterior motive to the kwami's actions until later that night when there was a thump on her terrace, the sound of someone stumbling around, a muffled curse and finally a knock at the trapdoor. Marinette threw an accusing stare at Tikki who stared right back.

"You two need to sort this out. The Paris needs you at friendly terms, at the very least, not like what happened yesterday."

Tikki really had the guilt-tripping down to a precise science, Marinette thought as she climbed up to her bed and unhooked the latch on the trapdoor. Chat's expression was probably as sheepish as her own as she waved him to come through.

"Hey," he greeted her, carefully following her down the ladder into the room.

"Hey," she replied. There was an awkward silence. Chat rubbed the back of his head and Marinette could have cursed herself for not noticing it was the same move as Adrien's. She had been really blind, hadn't she?

"I'm sorry," Chat blurted out suddenly. "For everything."

"It's okay," Marinette said, looking down and playing with the hem of her top. So he knew about her feelings. Then again, it was not like she had been very subtle about that. "I could have said something earlier."

"Plagg said something to me, about how I wasn't paying attention to you because I was too focused on Ladybug."

"Adrien-" she tried to say but he shook his head.

"I'm Chat right now. And you're Marinette and..." he trailed off before he took a deep breath. "I don't want to lose you. I consider you one of my first friends at school, even though you seemed really uncomfortable around me and looking back I was really stupid for not noticing sooner and-"

It was her turn to interrupt him.

"I understand. It's hard to see me when there's Ladybug to consider," she said, proud at how she managed to keep the bitterness out of her tone.

"Just like it's hard to see Chat when Adrien's right in front of you?" he asked pointedly. Marinette wanted to protest that it wasn't the same thing at all but it was. She had done the same to him as he had to her, with the exception of the whole 'setting up the best friend on a date with you' thing.

"I'm sorry," she said. Chat shrugged.

"For what it's worth, I don't think Ladybug's any better than you or anything. It's just, she, you, are the only person who can understand what it's like, this whole double life we lead. The things you said about danger to our family and friends, you were right in that we couldn't tell anyone, but it also meant there was no one else but you who got it."

Marinette swallowed hard. That was not what she had thought, not at all.

"I thought you loved Ladybug because she's perfect."

"I love Ladybug," he confirmed. "Not because she's perfect but because she's not. First time we met, you could barely use your yo-yo properly. But despite not being prepared for this whole saving Paris thing, you went out there and did what was right. You stood up to Hawkmoth and you keep doing that. You mess up sometimes but so do I and you still trust me..." he trailed off uncertainly.

"Of course I trust you, Kitty."

Marinette's response was automatic. Hurt or not, angry or not, she trusted him. That wasn't going to change anytime soon. He smiled widely at that and her heart gave that annoying jump again.

"The point is, the things I love about Ladybug are all things you do, too. Which makes sense because you are Ladybug and what I'm trying to say is I love the person behind the mask regardless of who she is because I already sort of know her."

Marinette bit at her lip. Chat - Adrien! - had just confessed to her. She heard the sincerity in his voice and she had affirmed just few moments ago that she trusted him. But she was still scared. This was too much and too fast.

"I want to say I love you, too," she said slowly. "But I'm afraid. I have been hurt and scared and angry for the past three days and it's too much."

Chat just looked at her and then he stepped closer, dropping into an extravagant kneeling bow that was the exact replica of the first time he had met her as Marinette.

"Marinette, Princess, My Lady," he started, taking her hand and dropping a kiss on her knuckles. She was too surprised to stop him and she didn't want to, either, curious where he was going with this. "This unworthy knight will follow your wishes, whatever they are. If you need time, you'll have time. If you need someone to talk to, I'll be all ears." The cat ears atop his head wiggled to prove the point. "If you decide that all you want from me is friendship," he paused and swallowed. "Then I'll be your friend. Whatever you want. I don't want to lose you, Marinette," he repeated his earlier words.

"And you won't, Chat, Adrien," she said firmly. "I just think we should take things slowly for now."

"Snails will move faster than us," he promised and she let out a giggle at how ridiculous that sounded.

"Not necessarily that slow," she corrected and he beamed up at her.

"I like your laugh," he said. "It's a beautiful sound."

She blushed at that and he looked far too proud of himself. And then his eyes lit up with an idea.

"Knock-knock," he said. She gave him a look but he just tilted his head challengingly. She sighed.

"Who's there?"

"You know."

"You know who?" she asked. Chat yelped and jumped back and Marinette was worried for the briefest of moments before it dawned at her. She shook her head in disbelief. "You are a dork."

"Come on, that one is great."

"Chat, I swear to god, if you start telling knock-knock jokes to me, I'll throw you out," she threatened and he quickly raised his hands in surrender.

"Fine, fine, but out of curiousity, if there were two kittens on the roof, which one would fall off first?"

"What?"

"The one with the lowest mew," he finished. "You said no knock-knock jokes," he pointed out and Marinette groaned. "Where does a bad light end up? In a prism."

"You are this close to having the lowest mew, whatever it means," she stated.

"It's a pun about the coefficient of friction," Chat explained. "I like physics," he added.

"And puns," she half-sighed. He shrugged.

"What can I say? I'm a punny guy. But I get it, the frequency of physics jokes sometimes hertz."

Marinette was about to retort when it dawned on her just how easy it was to joke around with him. She wasn't ready to jump into his arms and proclaim her undying love for him - no matter how many times she had fantasized about doing just that with Adrien - but it no longer seemed impossible. They were not okay, not yet, but this was the first step in the right direction. Adrien, Chat had seemed to accept her being both Ladybug and Marinette easily enough. It was time for her to catch up, because what he had said about not wanting to lose her, applied to her as well. She didn't want to lose Chat, who told awful jokes and flirted with her and could understand the weirdness of being a teenage superhero and she didn't want to lose Adrien, who had been so kind and nice to her when he had had no reason to be.

She wanted to get to know him, both sides of him and the boy who was behind them. He seemed to want the same so all they had to do was step forward together. Even if it meant putting up with bad physics jokes.

"Entropy really isn't what it used to be."

But even she had her limits.

"Out!"

Chat grinned at her, sneaked another hand kiss and jumped up on her bed and out the trapdoor. Then he stuck his head back in.

"A hundred kilopascals go into a bar."

He was lucky the only thing she had on hand was a pincushion. Tikki flew out from where she had made herself scarce earlier and smiled at Marinette who smiled back and then grabbed the little kwami and cuddled her close.

"Thank you, Tikki."

"Anytime, Marinette," Tikki said and nuzzled closer to her chosen. "Anytime."

* * *

 **A/N:** It's Marichat May so ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

Confession time: every single joke Chat told is one that I find personally funny.

This fic is also slowly winding down. I'll have a chapter shared by Adrinette and DJWifi and then another for Ladynoir and Ladrien and maybe an epilogue. This was never supposed to go on for long and sustained angst is not really my thing either. So see you next week.


End file.
